Property management companies and owners are reducing their carbon footprint by implementing new and innovative HVAC systems.
Innovative tools are now available to help them measure and track their efficiency efforts, ultimately maximizing HVAC energy efficiency with optimization.
Here we listed some trends in the HVAC energy efficiency realm of sustainability and energy efficiency.
Integrated Smart Controls
HVAC systems are now being made with more precise sensors and automated controls that give property management more control over indoor temperature. Integrating these systems in conjunction with a cloud-based system can dramatically improve real-time HVAC controls and allow the possibility of implementing scheduling and sensor-based controls.
In addition, the system automatically matches the set preferences or needs of the building, which can dramatically reduce heating and cooling efforts.
Energy Star Efficiency Rating
The Energy Star Standard is a popular efficiency rating created by the EPA. The program works by lowering the cost of energy-efficient products.
Energy Star-rated HVAC equipment is better for property owners and managers looking to significantly reduce monthly heating and cooling costs and energy consumption while reducing the building’s overall carbon footprint.
Geothermal HVAC Systems
Geothermal heating and cooling methods eliminate the need for oil or petroleum-based electricity. Instead, ground source heat pumps use the Earth’s soil and nearby water sources to generate energy. Enhanced geothermal HVAC systems can operate on a large scale, generating electricity for residential, commercial, agricultural, and industrial applications.
An optimization plan to maximize an HVAC energy efficiency must include three key components.
Measurement
It’s impossible to optimize equipment without accurate measurements, and HVAC systems are no exception. But how can you determine your system’s efficiency if you can’t measure its energy use? Understanding energy input, as well as system output, is necessary for determining what steps are needed to achieve maximum efficiency, as well as in measuring success. The information will also prove to be pivotal in establishing data-based controls.
“Calculating the current performance of the HVAC system is the first step in the optimization process,” Optimum Energy’s Ian Dempster wrote. “A detailed engineering analysis should show an hour-by-hour simulation of the system’s baseline performance against normalized weather data and load profiles for a full year.”
Systems
A system-level approach is a key to an effective HVAC optimization plan. Efficiencies are lost when energy-efficient equipment is installed without considering the entire system’s performance. After all, reducing the output of a single component could have unintended side effects and increase the energy units of other components. Accurate measurements taken before new installations will help determine if this occurs.
Automation and Continuity
Optimization isn’t a single procedure. Maximum energy efficiency can only be achieved through a continuous and dynamic process. Only when controls and adjustments are made based on real-time data can maximum optimization be achieved.
Motili HVAC Efficiency Calculator
Motili’s HVAC Efficiency Tool was created to allow property owners to calculate carbon emissions associated with HVAC operations.
The tool allows users to see statistics, including:
- Energy cost savings per unit for all units combined over ten years
- The percentage of decrease in energy use
- The kilograms of carbon equivalent emissions that can be saved per year
- Galls on gas emissions equivalent
This information will help them understand the accurate scale of their output to keep the indoor temperature at comfortable levels. An ROI time is also included to reflect the return of energy savings versus equipment and installation costs.
You can test our HVAC energy calculator here.
Motili’s Solution
Motili is the solution to cost-effective equipment, installation, repair, and maintenance.
We combine people, processes, and technology to create a unique and nationally supported app that will help property owners of all kinds to manage their heating and cooling efforts quickly.
Data analysis will continue to be performed by the on-demand service industry, including HVAC technicians, to match consumer needs to service providers. Motili’s platform goes even further by helping building managers make intelligent and proactive business decisions.
